Military aircraft has become more sophisticated in variety, effectiveness in war situations, and special maneuvering techniques in recent years. With the advance ofstealth technology, many new and very effective aircraft have been developed. The F-117A was used during Operation Dessert Storm and every plane came back without a scratch. The very expensive B-2 stealth bomber has never been used in actual war, but during testing it was a success. The Advanced Tactical Fighter program was started to make an aircraft that could supercruise, the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds, and didn't cost very much. The YF-22 and YF-23 were the first planes to accomplish this. With all the planes we know of, there are also top secret programs probably going on right now. A new fighter that has never been heard of before has been spotted. As John Welch, the assistant secretary of Air Force said, "Stealth gives us back that fundamental element of war called surprise" (Goodall 9). After it was found that aircraft could be very useful in war, it was used for large scale reconnaissance. Then people started to add bombs to aircraft and then airplanes started to become an essence of war. After World War 2, new bombers were developed with fast speed, and could travel far distances. They could also carry nuclear bombs and missiles. The use of the bomber aircraft then led to the fighter, which was equipped with guns and missiles. Helicopters were also found to be good strike aircraft. They were armed with cannons, machine guns, rockets, torpedoes, and a variety of missiles. Vertical takeoff made the helicopter an advantage. The first flight of the F-117A was in June of 1981 in Groom Lake test facility. The total cost for the development of the F-117A was just under two billion dollars, but itonly cost $43 million to make each plane. It became operational in October of 1983 and was the first operational stealth aircraft ever built. The F-117A is a night a...
